Big Isle mayor would have stuck to his bluejeans
By Karin Stanton
Associated Press
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii » Big Island Mayor Harry Kim says he would not have changed his bluejeans and boots to run for governor, but he does wonder whether a job in Honolulu would have been a good fit.
Kim, in an interview a week after his decision to reject calls for him to challenge Gov. Linda Lingle, said he agonized for months over the decision but eventually decided he still has things to do at home.
If he had run, though, Kim insists he would not have changed his unpolitical demeanor.
"You know, I'm as unsophisticated as can be," said the mayor who managed to win two terms in the primary election without runoffs and has cut an image unlike any other island politician.
A friend teased the mayor when he was making his decision, asking if he would dare to debate Lingle while wearing his trademark jeans.
Kim, who dressed the same when he visited the governor's office with the other islands' mayors in their more traditional aloha wear, replied, "Why not? It's who I am."
The mayor, in the interview last week after his decision, said he is content to focus on his own island's problems, rather than tackle wider issues.
"Every day, I see the news, and our world is so complex. I'm not even sure what's going on," he said, "but we are blessed to be here and I just want to make Hawaii Island a nicer place to live."
Kim, who ran for mayor in 2000 as a Republican, refused to accept campaign donations exceeding $10, printed bumper stickers reading "Applicant for Mayor" and set out to restore trust in government.
He said he would have regretted walking out on the mayor's office.
"I would not ever for as long as I live have felt good about the things I didn't have a chance to do," Kim said.
Kim, who says he made his decision not to run at 4 a.m. on July 21, said he told his wife and then called each of his Cabinet members, who had been anxious about their futures.
"It was primarily based on sitting on my porch waiting for the birds to start singing," Kim said. "I really, truly did not know. I knew I could be giving the people of Hawaii chance for a choice, but it came down to what is most important: trust."
In the statement announcing his decision, Kim apologized for any inconvenience it had caused.
He said he felt he needed to apologize, even though he had been upfront about considering running for governor. Many of his Cabinet members are young and need to keep working to support their families, he said.
"I wanted them to know the truth, that people had asked me and I was thinking about it," he said. "I put them in a position of uncertainty, but I promised that there was no game-playing on my part."
Kim also said he could not betray the voters who expect him to finish his term as mayor. He said he still has much to do.
"I don't really have a top five" priorities, he said. "It's more like a top 15, and I could go on and on. There are numerous things not finished or committed to or even started."
Kim said he hopes to see progress on road projects in West Hawaii and Puna, is pushing ahead with more than 900 affordable housing units in Kohala and is determined to find a solution to the county's mounting solid-waste problem.
"We need a good solid-waste program," Kim said. "I'm happy with where we are going but not happy with how long it's taken."
The 66-year-old former teacher and longtime Civil Defense Agency chief who originally ran for mayor as a Republican, before the job became nonpartisan, had been wooed heavily by top Democrats.
He recently stated he disagreed with Lingle's stand on prisons, housing, education and economic initiatives, calling it simply a "difference in values."
County Finance Director Bill Takaba shared a sentiment heard throughout the county building after Kim's announcement.
"Although Harry's candidacy would have offered the public a wonderful alternative, we all respect his desire to complete many important projects on the Big Island and are happy with his decision," Takaba said.